| Scale Intervals |
| This page is maintained by Sarah Sommer. To E-mail me, click here. Last Updated: May 16,2004. |
| Scale Intervals There are many different math ideas worked into the scale area of music. For example, in a major scale there are two different intervals between the notes: whole step and half step. A whole step is when there are two half steps between one note and the note that follows it. A half step means that the difference between the two notes is only one chromatic scale degree. (A chromatic scale is a scale that involves every note that is able to be played on a given instrument and is composed of all half steps.) In a major scale, the pattern is as follows assuming that W is equal to a whole step, and H is the equivalent of a half step: W W H W W W H. In a minor scale the pattern is as follows: W H W W W H W. In music, there are different intervals between individual notes, which give different sounds to the different intervals. The sound with which the difference between the notes is heard is determined by the number of half steps between the notes. For example, when there is a difference of one half step, the interval is called a minor 2nd.The following chart expresses the different names for the different intervals. The major and minor part of the interval can also be expressed using a lowercase or capital "m." The capital "M" stands for a major interval and the lowercase "m" stands for a minor interval. The other letters represent different intervals such as "P," which stands for a perfect interval and "TT," which means Tritone. Some, like the octave, don't have a specific interval abbreviation because it is exactly one octave or 12 half steps from the original note. |
| Number of Half Steps Between the Two Notes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 |
| Name of the Interval Minor 2nd (m2) Major 2nd (M2) Minor 3rd (m3) Major 3rd (M3) Perfect 4th (P4) Tritone (TT) Perfect 5th (P5) Minor 6th (m6) Major 6th (M6) Minor 7th (m7) Major 7th (M7) Octave |
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| Click here to view the different scales. |